World Cup 2010: Riot police break up stewards' protest

The simmering unhappiness of World Cup stadium workers and stewards flared again here, hours before the defending champions Italy took on Paraguay, as riot police were forced to break up an attempted strike over wages and employment terms. Around 80 staff at the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town demonstrated against what they claim are broken promises in relation to pay and the authorities took no chances, sending in at least 100 riot police, who wore helmets and carried shields, to remove them from the site. As police vans arrived on the scene and helicopters circled overhead, the stadium was locked down, meaning that supporters were forced to wait outside, until the protesters were escorted away. One steward appeared to be hurt. The World Cup organising committee asked the South African police service to take over security in Cape Town and Durban until further notice. They made the request after the stewards' dispute with their contractor, Stallion Security Consortium. "This is an employer-employee wage dispute," said Danny Jordaan, the head of the local organising committee. "Although we have respect for workers' rights, we find it unacceptable for them to disrupt matchday proceedings and will not hesitate to take action in such instances." The previous night in Durban, after Germany's 4-0 win over Australia, riot police fired teargas and rubber bullets to disperse about 400 stewards, who had refused to leave the Moses Mabhida Stadium in protest over low wages.